Poultry News

NFU & NPA Provide Guidance Document on Pig, Poultry Permits

29 May 2012

UK - The NFU and NPA have produced a guidance document on permits for pig and poultry members. It has been produced by Deborah Sharples - a partner and the head of planning and environmental law at NFU Legal Panel Firm Hewitsons.

Many pig and poultry operators, including those with modern well-run units, suffer from complaints from neighbours at some time. Complaints are sometimes justified, sometimes they are not. They can be mischievous or malicious.

In some cases, a genuine mistake may have been made as to the cause of the problem or the reasonable level of expectation. Whatever the circumstances, complaints are always a problem. They are always costly in terms of management time, neighbourly relations and reputation and they always need to be dealt with.

Whether the unit is governed by an environmental permit, so that the problems may amount to a breach of permit conditions, or whether it is a smaller unit where they may amount to a statutory nuisance, the best tools at your disposal when complaints arise are systems, records and a cooperative attitude.